From what I understand, a tourist visa would require me to leave India after 6 months are up, even if I have a 5 year visa. For those who prefer to stay there as much and as long as possible, where do you usually go during that break, supposing you just want to leave for a day or two and you don't really feel the need to go back to your home country (USA in my case). I'm not in India yet. I'm just thinking ahead. I like to know the possible scenarios before I get to them so I'll have a better idea of what to do.

If there are already threads that answer this question, feel free to point me to them.

The answer might depend on where in India you are staying. If, for example, I was in Varanasi and only wanted to be gone for a couple of days, I might go to Nepal.... or maybe Bangkok. But if I was in Chennai or B'lore, I might choose to go to Sri Lanka.